Singapore - Turn spotlight on health, food concerns

These issues, with far-reaching economic and security impact, need to be tabled at this weekend's East Asia Summit

Non-traditional security (NTS) issues have ranked high on the East Asia Summit's (EAS) agenda since its establishment. Calls for greater collaboration on key issues such as energy security, climate change, disaster management and infectious diseases have featured prominently at past summits.

But there has been a notable absence of discussion on two areas: Health security issues beyond the scope of infectious diseases, and food security. During its inception in 2005, pandemic influenza was identified as the primary health priority of the EAS. This is unsurprising given that numerous infectious diseases, including dengue and malaria, are endemic across many member states. Additionally, the damaging socioeconomic consequences of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and avian influenza (H5N1) in 2005 helped cement the sustained political support that propelled the pandemic preparedness and response agenda of the EAS.

The 2009 EAS Chairman's Statement describes H1N1 as both a "challenge to economic growth" and a threat to the "well-being of people". This suggests that the international health problems prioritised by the EAS are those most potentially disruptive to economic development. If this is indeed the case, it would be wise for the EAS to take heed of the global non-communicable disease (NCD) burden - an issue that has gained significant momentum this past year.

NCDs are only the second health issue to be the subject of a high-level meeting held by the United Nations, attended by heads of state and government this year - the last was HIV/AIDS a decade ago. Both, incidentally, have been described by the UN as "emerging health issue(s) with a major socioeconomic impact".

This flurry of large-scale activity appears justifiable by sheer numbers alone: A recent report by the UN Secretary-General noted that 36 million people die annually from NCDs, amounting to 63 per cent of global deaths. Of those, 9 million are under 60 years of age, adversely affecting the number of able, contributing participants to the global workforce.

The rise of NCDs also places additional burdens upon states' health facilities, healthcare systems and often already-stretched medical workforces. This is of particular concern for South-east Asian members of the EAS. According to Asian Trends Monitoring, most South-east Asian countries' health systems are built to manage endemic infectious diseases - not chronic NCDs. Further, they argue that NCD responses across these countries are neither well-coordinated nor well-funded. And continued challenges to policy implementation - such as the increase of NCDs among the urban poor - remain largely unaddressed. Will the NCD issue make its debut at this month's EAS in Bali?

Since the global food price crisis of 2007 to 2008, food security has occupied a firm spot on the international stage. Yet, food security appears to be given less importance than other NTS issues considered critical by the EAS.

During the 2008 Foreign Ministers' Informal Consultation, food security was primarily addressed in relation to its overlap with the energy sector and the need to balance the dual priorities of using agricultural crops for food and biofuel production. The 2011 Informal Consultation in Bali saw the ministers emphasise greater regional cooperation on food and energy security, recognise the synergetic relationship between food and energy security and encourage balanced, sustainable growth across both areas.

It is evident that the EAS is mindful of the far-reaching, multi-sectoral impact of the challenges of food security upon all member states. Hence, its absence from the agenda of the Summits themselves is all the more puzzling.

For example, the 2009 EAS Chairman's Statement made no mention of food security, despite the protracted effects of the global food price crisis. In last year's statement, food security was not identified as one of the EAS' five priority areas (namely finance, education, energy, disaster management and influenza preparedness). It only received brief mention, and even so in the context of reaffirming commitments to further disaster management cooperation.

In considering if food security should be tabled as a stand-alone concern at this weekend's Bali summit, we need look no further than the recently-released Global Hunger Index 2011. Two out of the 18-member coalition of EAS member states - Laos and India - were found to have "alarming" rates of hunger, while five others (Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar) recorded "serious" levels of hunger severity.

The uncertainty of the global food trade system also provides a compelling reason. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011 report cautioned that food price volatility and high prices are likely to continue and possibly increase in the near future, making farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. This trend has wider implications for all EAS member states, from major food-producing countries like the United States, India and China to small, import-dependent states like Singapore. In short, it would be in the interest of the EAS to consider the broader scope of health security and introduce food security in the EAS Summit in Bali.

Ong Suan Ee

Today - Singapore

Ong Suan Ee is a senior research analyst at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.